Need Some Workout Motivation? Read This Right Now

Have you been putting off your workouts because you’re just too busy, you’re just not ready yet, or you’re just not feeling up to it?

Well, we’re going to fix that problem right now.

So if you want some motivation, stick around. If not, click away from this post IMMEDIATELY and go read something safe and unmotivating.

Ok.

So you said you want some motivation?

Are you sick of not being able to fit into the clothes you want to wear? Avoiding the beach because you don’t want anyone else to see how jiggly your abs have gotten? Feeling embarrassed… disgusted… and hopeless about how you look?

(I’ve been there.)

Then let’s DO THIS. Let’s get you some motivation.

Now follow these steps below carefully:

Quit saying you don’t have the time to exercise.

We’re all busy. We all have too many things to do in a 24-hour time period.

But go ahead and ask yourself right now: What are your main priorities?

Because if you’re not making your health a priority now, whether you’re 25, 35, 45, 55 or older… well, I’ll guarantee you this: your health is going to be your main concern someday.

But when you get to that stage, it won’t be a choice. You won’t be deciding what new sport to try or how many times a week you should do your HIIT.

Nope.

If you get to the point where you’re forced to care about your health (while previously ignoring it), that means you’ve reached a point in your life where your health is falling apart.

Maybe you’ll discover you have diabetes because you ate like crap your entire life. Or be told you can no longer be independent because you now need a full-time nurse to help you move around the room since you didn’t bother to keep active when you were younger. Or you’ll be dealing with whatever other disease or ailment that you got because you just didn’t give a damn about your health any earlier in life.

And that sucks.

No one wants to deal with that.

So how about this… instead of saying you just don’t have time to exercise, make time.

Make your health a priority once and for all.

See, the cool thing is, you don’t actually have to spend hours working out in order to keep fit and healthy and avoid those terrible illnesses I just mentioned.

You can do it in just 12 minutes a day.

That’s all it takes.

High intensity interval training basically removes any excuse you have for not working out because you don’t have time.

Just think of all the 12 minutes you waste a day doing things like watching TV, taking an extra long shower or cutting your toenails.

YOU HAVE 12 MINUTES.

So here’s what I want you to do…

Drop everything you’re doing right now and go find your calendar, or notepad, or phone, or whatever you use to keep your schedule.

Now, decide how many times a week you want to make sure and exercise. I’d recommend at least three. Go for five or six if you’re more ambitious (I do six).

Next, put your workout in your schedule. If you’re aiming for three times a week, find three fifteen minute time slots and stick them in there. If you’re aiming for six, find six openings.

If you honestly, seriously, not lying and you don’t actually have any open time slots, here’s what you’re going to do…

You’re going to make time.

You’re going to shorten a meeting, cross off watching The Voice or just reduce the time you spend in the goddamn shower.

Now you have your workouts in your schedule. End of excuses.

Next up…

Stop saying you can’t work out.

I’m fully aware that every single person reading this is at a different fitness level.

Some of you can do 5, 10, even 20 pull ups. Some don’t even know how to start doing one.

(Once again, I’ve been there.)

But here’s a secret…

No one cares about how “good” you are at working out.

If you have to rest after three burpees, great. If you have to modify your push ups because you’ll fall on your face if you try a standard one, more power to you.

Because it’s not about what you can do… it’s about how hard you try.

These workouts are HARD.

Even after doing them consistently for a few years, after each and every workout I do, I’m covered in sweat, starving, and want nothing more than to lie on the floor and not move for at least the next 10 minutes.

Sometimes I’m so tired I have to take a quick break in the middle of an interval. Sometimes I have to do jumping pull ups instead of real pull ups or modify an exercise because I just physically can’t push any harder.

But that’s OK. Because all that matters is that I’m pushing myself as hard as I can possibly go.

And that’s all that you need to aim for. Whether that means you rest during half of the 12 minutes, I don’t give a damn.

It’s not about “perfecting” these workouts. It’s about challenging yourself and pushing your own limits.

That’s it.

As long as you keep pushing, as long as you don’t give up, that’s all that matters.

And I’ll tell you this…

I KNOW you can do it.

No matter what your fitness background, you can do an interval workout like the ones here on the 12 Minute Athlete, and you can kick its ass.

Who cares what everyone else does. This is about YOU. About YOUR body. About YOUR future health. No one else matters here.

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[…] you’re anything like me, you don’t have much of a problem getting motivated to work out on a regular basis—but when it comes to recovery, that’s another […]

Natalia
October 5, 2013 at 6:42 pm

Great website. I want to start right now

Cindy
November 16, 2013 at 12:32 pm

Hi Krysta! I’m so thrilled to have found this website. The past few months I’ve been so good about working out, but recently I lost motivation, I was eating terribly. UGH! It’s been about three weeks of missing work outs and beating myself up. I think it was because I got tired of my old workouts and didn’t want to them. But you have so many on here, I just did one. And it motivated me to keep going and I went on another 10 minutes and did squats with weights and some arm work outs.
I think having this will help me get to where I want to be! You’re awesome and I’m excited to go on this journey.

Katy
January 31, 2014 at 11:35 am

I think I may need to read this every day for the next week or so. I will get a workout in each day. I have the time, I just need to prioritize! Thanks for the motivation!

Kari
February 24, 2014 at 6:55 pm

Loved the motivation. Love the website. I found your app “by accident” couple weeks ago and with it “I found my grove back” because it’s a different set of exercises whenever you want it to be different ! It’s all I needed. I see better results with my 12 or sometimes 16 min exercises comparing with my 1hr or 1:30 hrs running like a maniac on elyptical machine almost everyday. I’m 40 years old and went from 142lbs to 136lbs so far. And so far my diet hasn’t been “the best “. I can only imagine how much more I would lose if I was eating clean everyday. THANK YOU

Just wanted to say thanks because I really needed this push (-: have always been fat all my life and I always feared going to the gym or just going for a run because I’m always afriad of people judging me because of my size but anyways this was just about the right motivation I need so thank you (-:

Lesli
March 3, 2015 at 1:50 pm

I am so happy to have come across your site. Last year, I lost 30 pounds–eating vegan, no alcohol, major caloric decrease, moderate exercise–but I’ve gained it all back and then some. I know I can lose it but time has always been my excuse—and you’re right—we all have at least 12 minutes! I’ve been on your site for a while now and keep looking for “the catch” –money or otherwise. So far, haven’t seen it. Thank you and wish me luck! I know I can do this!

So, sooooo true! I have been at least a semi-worker-outer for years (“born-again”, one might say, after a sedentary, obese childhood, and then I “saw the light” in my early 20’s) but my poor childhood habits caught up with me–3 years ago, I was diagnosed with MS. I’m staying strong and holding out, as I’m not that symptomatic yet. I’m doing these workouts, as well as lifting, cycling, yoga, Pilates… not all at the same time, but really, you have to be serious to some degree, or (as you said) end up non-functional. Especially those of us who already have a strike against us!

Keep on the good work! I love your emphasis on health rather than just fitting into a smaller size! 🙂

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